The design, simulation, and assembly of flexible parts, such as cables, hoses and wire harness, becomes more difficult as the surrounding environments through which the flexible parts are routed becomes more complex. Increases in complexity of the surrounding environment may result in increases in the complexity of the path through which the flexible part must pass. With the introduction of the electric hybrid vehicle and fuel cell vehicles, there are more flexible parts used for various functional designs such as the heavy gauged, high-voltage cables to connect hybrid components. Current industrial practice for the routing design of flexible parts is carried out first by traditional computer aided design (CAD).
The CAD models assume that the flexible parts are actually rigid bodies—such as steel pipes—and do not account for the pliable properties of the flexible parts. This often leads to a large dimensional variation in the path of the as-assembled flexible part from the designer's intended path, due to the flexibility of the parts. As a consequence of inaccurate routing design, it may be difficult to keep the actual flexible parts used in the assembly process within range of the designer's intended path, which may result in problematic interactions with surrounding components. Furthermore, the need to apply significant force and torque during the assembly process may cause ergonomics issues and decrease efficiency.